Variant 1 You could have come first and won the race if you … faster

23. Which of the following is FALSE?
A) Mars has two moons. B) It takes longer for Mars to circle the Sun than it takes Earth.
C) Martian soil is rocky. D) Mars is larger than Earth
24. Man-made canals were supposedly discovered by …
A) Schiaparelli B) Martian C) Viking I D) Phobos
25. Mars has been nicknamed as …
A) Demos B) Viking I C) Martian D) The Red Planet
26. According to the text, Viking I …
A) found signs of life on Mars B) made essential contributions to Red Planet expeditions.
C) discovered two satellites of Mars. D) only learnt about volcanic movement of the planet


Mountains have always evoked awe and inspiration artists and adventurers throughout human existence. More recent research has led to important new insights how mountains, the most magnificent of the Earth`s formations, came to be the way they are. Mountains are created and shaped, it now appears, not only by the movements of the vast tectonic plates that make up the Earth`s exterior but also by factors such as climate and erosion. In particular, the interactions between tectonic, climatic and erosional processes exert strong control over the shape and maximum height of the mountains as well as the amount of time necessary to build – or destroy – a mountain range. Paradoxically, the shaping of mountains seems to depend as much on the destructive forces of erosion as on the constructive power of tectonics.
27. As it is stated in the passage, recent research …
A) confirmed what we already knew about mountain formations.
B) demonstrated that tectonic plates move usually in one direction.
C) created more questions about the way mountains were formed.
D) enabled us to have better ideas about how mountains are shaped.
28. The movements of tectonic plates, the climate and erosion are factors …
A) that collectively form the interior of the Earth.
B) that are effective in the shaping and creation of mountains.
C) that help mountains reach great heights.
D) responsible for all the interactions that occur on the Earth`s exterior.